Myths of Venice: The Figuration of a State

Never conquered and taking its enduring independence as a sign of divine favor, Venice broadcast an image of itself over the course of several centuries as the Most Serene Republic, an ideal state whose ruling patriciate were selflessly devoted to the commonweal. Exploring the imagery developed in Venice to represent the legends of its origins and legitimacy, David Rosand reveals how artists such as Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, Carpaccio, Titian, Jacopo Sansovino, Tintoretto, and Veronese gave enduring visual form to the myths of Venice. He argues that Venice, more than any other political entity of the early modern period, shaped the visual imagination of western political thought.